Hope and fear as tourists trickle back to Pahalgam after attack

A week after a destructive armed attack near the Pahal Lam Mountain Resort, where 26 people died in Kashmir managed by Indians, the village began to return to a minority in a quiet desolation.

Main High Street, which was abandoned last week by visitors, is seeing a trace of life again as the store is closed and the hotel is completely emptied.

Last Tuesday, the armed forces visited Baisaran, a three -mile (5 km) (5 km) (5 km), and mainly caused fire to tourists, often described as “Swiss in India.”

This attack has been one of the most deadly people in recent years, and has been deadly destroying the lives of many families and causing extensive anger in India.

Since then, the tension between India and Pakistan has fully claimed Kashmir, but only partially managed, but each side has announced retaliation for the other person.

There is a growing speculation on whether there will be a military reaction of Delhi. Kashmir’s government closed more than half of the tourist attractions of the valley as the authorities reviewed the security situation and searched for search.

Since the rebellion in 1989, the armed forces for armed forces for security forces and civilians often occurred in the region, but tourists were rare, and they shocked both local businesses and tourists.

Tourism is the mainstream of the economy in the same places like Pahalgam, and now I am afraid that many livelihoods will be hurt.

Akshay Solanki, a tourist in Mumbai, said there was a “panic” between the travelers’ group on the day of the attack on the “selfie point” outside the village overlooking the lush meadow and the rush river. But they decided to continue their trip because the flights returning home could not be cheaper.

Other tourists said that the constant tenderloin of local residents and security troops gave them comfort. The driver who brought visitors from Srinagar, the capital, said he pleaded with the BBC Hindi to visitors not to “distance” in Kashmir.

After three days of cleaning, the shawlseller Rafi Ahmed said he was afraid of a long -term livelihood if tourists did not come.

Among the tourists who recommended to come to the sense of breaking, there was ATUL KULKARNI, an actor who visited the village after the attack. He told the BBC Hindi that the message of the armed forces said, “Don’t come here, and we have to respond with more numbers.”

Kulkarni said, “Do not cancel the reservation, cancel a different plan and come here.

However, Pahalgam has a lot of uncertainty and uncertainty and can take several years for the normal sense to recover, the local employer and residents told the BBC.

The Indian authorities began combing operations in this area, detaining hundreds of people and destroying houses of armed forces.

India and Pakistan are also known to have exchanged small inorganic fires across the border.

The escalation of tension is to maintain tourists and business owners in TENTERHOOKS.

The Indian authorities insisted that Kashmir had witnessed relative peace after Kashmir withdrew its autonomous status in 2019. Ahead of the 2024 Indian election, Modi welcomed the “freedom” in the area.

The top leaders have pointed out more than 23 million and millions of tourism last year as evidence of insufficient boom. But last week’s attack once again, the idea of ​​continuous peace in the playback valley was shattered.

“this [attack] Rafi Ahmed Meer, a politician of Pahalgam, urges the BBC Hindi to rush and even hear the body to help tourists after attack, and the method of wiping it is a long -term concern.

A tour operator based in Mumbai told the BBC. A prominent tour operator group said at a press conference that about 80-90%of all reservations were canceled.

Sansare said, “I felt that the war was coming after the attack, so tourists are confused about what to do.” Some of the people who have already made a reservation are continuing. I will also go there on the 2nd of next month. “

Attacks on tourists seem to put weight on Kashmir in a different way. In order to connect Kashmir Valley to the rest of India, the inauguration of the world’s best single arch railway bridge was scheduled to happen after several delay this month.

The timeline for the opening of this showpiece project was to say “LOOKES FULLER”.

The area has just begun to invest in new businesses, but it may not be dry if hostility rises.

UBAIR Shah, who owns one of the largest cold storage facilities in the Pulwama district in Kashmir, southern Kashmir, said, “People who invested in logistics and other sectors will now think twice because of the security environment. I do not predict.

As the area continued to boil, local leaders expressed their deep suffering to their lost families.

In a passionate speech at Jammu and Kashmir’s General Assembly on Monday, Omar Abdullah, Prime Minister and Tourism, praised the victims by reading the names of all 26 people.

He said that people in each country are being attacked and that they cannot guarantee a safe return when they come to Kashmir.

“I had nothing to apologize for. What can my father say to the blood -soaked children?

“Some people said they would come to Kashmir for the first time, but they would have to pay for vacation life.